Putin Warns West About Weapons For Ukraine, Biden: We Don't Give To Attack Moscow Or The Kremlin

President Joe Biden with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv. (Source: President.gov.ua)

JAKARTA - United States President Joe Biden said on Thursday Western weapons given to Ukraine were not used to attack Moscow or the Kremlin, responding to a stern warning from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin yesterday said Western countries supplying weapons to Ukraine to attack Russian territory had to take Russia into account, after President Vladimir Putin said he was considering arming Western enemies in retaliation.

When asked about President Putin's comments, US President Joe Biden told ABC News on the sidelines of a D-Day alert in France, Ukraine was limited in firing weapons supplied by Washington at targets inside Russia near the border between the two countries.

"We are not talking about giving them weapons to attack Moscow, to attack the Kremlin," he said.

"Right across the border where they received significant shots from conventional weapons used by Russia to enter Ukraine to kill Ukrainians," he continued.

President Biden referred to Russian troops and artillery stationed just inside Russia to support Russia's attack on Kharkiv City in northeastern Ukraine, which has also been attacked by a glide bomb launched by Russian jets from its airspace.

Earlier, while speaking with senior editors of the international news agency in St Petersburg on Wednesday, the Russian leader said Moscow was considering providing advanced long-range weapons, which are similar to those given by the West to Ukraine, to Western enemies around the world. It refers to long-range missiles supplied to Ukraine by the US and Britain.

"We think, if someone thinks it's possible to supply such weapons to the war zone to attack our territory and create problems for us, then why don't we have the right to supply our weapons of the same class to regions of the world, where there will be attacks on sensitive facilities of countries doing this to Russia?" President Putin said.

"So the response can be symmetric. We will think about it," he said.

It hinted the Kremlin could supply weapons to US enemies such as Iran-backed militias in Iraq and Syria that periodically launch rockets and drones to US troops. However, it is not clear who it will provide weapons in the UK case.

Separately, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state TV he believed President Putin's warning had been heard in the West, where he said the warning had been studied.

"They need to take our place and our position. We will not sacrifice our interests," Peskov said.

When asked earlier on Thursday by reporters whether the Kremlin would name a country or territory that Russia might supply weapons in this way, he said no.

"This is a very important and very transparent statement that the arms supply that will be fired at us cannot run without consequences, and those consequences will definitely come," he stressed.

Washington has banned Kyiv from attacking Russian territory with ATACMS, which has a range of up to 186 miles (300 km), and other long-range weapons supplied by the US.